Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem(8/17/19)[Prayer]

The Holy Scriptures | 8/17/19 | left that other site

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

(Old Testament)

2 Kings 17

Samaria Resettled

24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns. 25 When they first lived there, they did not worship the Lord; so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people. 26 It was reported to the king of Assyria: “The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what he requires.”

27 Then the king of Assyria gave this order: “Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires.” 28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord.

29 Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places. 30 The people from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth, those from Kuthah made Nergal, and those from Hamath made Ashima; 31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelek and Anammelek, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 They worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. 33 They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.

34 To this day they persist in their former practices. They neither worship the Lord nor adhere to the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands that the Lord gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35 When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. 36 But the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. 37 You must always be careful to keep the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38 Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39 Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”

40 They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. 41 Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Kings 17:4 So is probably an abbreviation for Osorkon.
2. 2 Kings 17:12 Exodus 20:4,5

New International Version (NIV)(End of Scripture Passage)



This is a very early example of the Arabic word "hegira", which is conquest by migration. The Assyrians were determined to replace the population in such a way that the Israelites would not be able to go back home.

New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Oh LORD, Our God,
How Excellent Is Your Name Over All The Earth!
How Mighty,
How Majestic,
and How Wonderful!
You Alone Are Worthy of Praise and Worship,
For You Alone Are the Most High,
Ancient of Days,
Our Rock and Our Redeemer,
Our Refuge and Our Strength!
You Are the Creator of All Things,
And Yet, Even In Your Omnipotence,
You Give us the Privilege of Calling Out To You,
"Abba, Father!"

1. He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

3. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
4. He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6. Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. (From Psalm 91)

Our Father in Heaven,
We Thank You For These Glorious Words of Your Psalmist,
Such Words of Comfort and Strength!
The Waters indeed Roar and are troubled,
The Truth is Indeed Our Shield and Our Buckler!
And YOU ARE The TRUTH!
And The Mountains Indeed Shake
with the Troubles of this World!
But YOU, Oh LORD, are Our Refuge and Our Fortress,
Our God, In Whom We Trust!
Though the Whole Earth seems to rage against us,
We Do Not Fear,
For You Are Lord Over All.

Father, We Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem,
According To Your Will and Promise.
We Pray That You Will Forgive The Sins of Our Own Nation as well,
and Lead us all to Godly Repentance.
Create in Us Clean Hearts, Oh LORD,
and Renew a Right Spirit Within Us,
As We Await Your Messiah,
Blessed Be He,
To Set Up His Kingdom,
And Make All Things Right.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[I want the USA back]

“they did not worship the Lord; so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people.”

Is that where m*slims got the idea to kill infidels?

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

I remember always loving the reading of the Gospel in church. It made much more sense to me than the sermon or the other readings, as the Gospels were stories, and so they were easier to understand. Since little children take things literally, I embraced these stories as Truth, without hesitation. In my heart, I knew these were real stories about real people, and were different from Fairy Tales and Disney Movies.

Since my childhood was during the late 50's and early 60's, I was also aware of the Civil Rights Movement in America. At the time, the polite term for African-Americans was "Negroes". My parents, who were very kind and decent people, taught me NEVER, EVER to use that other word that began with "N". This had nothing to do with "Political Correctness" but everything to do with "The Golden Rule".

So here I was, sitting in the pew at the tender age of six, hearing the story of The Good Samaritan. I LOVED the story, but had no idea what a "Samaritan" was, or why it was so remarkable that a "Samaritan" was the only guy who did the right thing. The sermon didn't help much, because it just said how the Jews hated the Samaritans and that wouldn't even talk to them! Filled with images from the Evening News, I figured it out myself. The Samaritans were "Negroes"! Yeah...that's it. I shared my revelation with my Dad.

"No," he patiently explained. "The Samaritans weren't Negroes. They were just people that the Jews didn't like. But Jesus loved them anyway."

Well, of course, that only deepened the mystery. I became obsessed with Samaritans. Since we didn't have a Bible, and I couldn't read yet anyway, I created a whole world of "Samaritans" in my head. And, do this day, when I visualize Samaritans in my head, they look like Black People. (LOL) and no, that is NOT racist.

Anyway, today's reading gives us a profound insight into the Jewish distrust of this particular People-Group. Sargon II took over 27,000 prominent Israelites out of the Northern Kingdom, leaving only the peasantry behind to till the land. He then IMPORTED thousands of people from all over his conquered territory and placed them in the land. These people had a bunch of other religions which they continued to practice among the Israelites that were left behind, influencing and corrupting the Worship of the LORD. (as if the remaining Israelites hadn't done a fine job of doing that already!) The Assyrian Rulers, seeing the devastation of God's punishment, sent in a hired "Priest" to straighten things out. What resulted was Syncretism, which is like putting all the religions into a food processor and worshiping whatever comes out.

Thus, through intermarriage and attrition, the People of the Northern Kingdom became a whole new People-Group, and the People of Judah were not happy about it.

By the time Jesus told His Parables, the Samaritans had somewhat returned to the worship of the One True God, and revered the Torah, as evidenced by Jesus' conversation with The Woman at the Well (John 4). She freely speaks of "our father Jacob" as she speaks to the Man she knows is a Jew. And yet, the grudge from 700 years earlier has never gone away.

The funny thing is, Samaritans are the descendants of deportees from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim, which are in the regions of modern-day Iraq and Iran, ie: the Caucasus Mountains...which means that the Samaritans were more "Caucasian" than I am!

Today's Passage deserves another reading, as it explains a lot of the dynamics in both the Gospels and The book of Acts.

Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His inheritance! (Psalm 33)

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

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I don’t know if your post was sarcasm or not, but I am sure that you do know that the koran was a mixed-up plagiarized version of the Bible. Anything in the koran that resembles the Bible has been twisted, inverted, and “subrogated” (nullified or replaced). There are even verses in the koran (the Meccan verses) that are subrogated by later verses (the Medina verses), and even verses that are considered “satanic” (Salman Rushdie got into a LOT of trouble by exposing those to the general public)

And...just a friendly reminder... this is a devotional thread, and we do not engage in debates per FR rules. We just happen to be going through the “History Section” of the Bible right now, some of which is kind of grisly. These very Samaritans end up being the “heroes” of many of Jesus’s Parables, so the incident with the lions is just one event in in a huge narrative.

[Silentgypsy]

Amen and thank you.

[etabeta]

Joining in prayer. God bless.

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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Silentgypsy, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His inheritance! (Psalm 33)

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[left that other site]

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Etabeta, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His inheritance! (Psalm 33)

God Bless America!

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.



This Symbol Represents Christians in The Middle East, who desperately need our Prayers.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS